Shouting Leaf
by ToobertSawk
Summary: It is done. Alduin is defeated. The fate of Nirn is once more staved off, and the black wyvern is cast adrift into the tides of time and space again. The World Eater is glad for this. His father's will is done, and he can move on to his home within the sky. However, it is not to be. Alduin lives again, inside a young boy, who holds within himself a powerful Daedra, bound by Death.
1. Author's Note

Disclaimer and AN

 _AN: Hey, so I'm new. Not really at all well versed in the FF department, aside from the reading itself, so (optimally) the first chapter (or, suboptimally, the first few) may be weird, simply due to my lack of familiarity with the setup of FF and the programs required to make it function properly. That being said, let's get on to business with the subject itself, the story._

 _My plan with this is to make a smooth, balanced character based off of the lore of the Skyrim universe, mixed into the world of the Naruto Universe. This meaning that the character in question, Naruto, will behave in a more western way concerning his upbringing. Don't worry, he'll still be excitable and overwhelmingly optimistic, but it won't be as flushed out as the situation progresses. The idea is based off of the FF "The Jinchuuriki of the WorldEater" by Soleneus, of which I read maybe one chapter before becoming rather disappointed in the overall lack of skill concerning them and their production._ ** _SUPER IMPORTANT EDIT:_** _I went back and read some more of Solenus' work and I would like to let anyone who would care to read my story to take a good look at his and ignore my rather stupid words above as reading only one chapter is not good enough for a solid review. Hiis work is fuckin' good, not my style of writing, but still good. So check it out, the humor is fresh and the character's are dank._

 _Nevertheless, the basic, and I do mean very basic, idea of this story is based off of Soleneus' brain baby, so props to them for coming up with a rather solid idea. The deviation from that is that the execution will be vastly different._

 _Another thing to be aware of is that I've only gotten through part 1 of the English dub and have only watched Shippuden in Sub up to the scene where Sakura is watching Sai draw at the inn that Tenzo payed for. So that means that "Dattebayo", "San", "Chan" and other such, quote unquote, "Japanisms" will go unused unless complained about by a significant number of readers. I am not well versed enough in Japanese language structure and social nuance to effectively use these without annoying said "significant number of readers". The only reason I even know about those is because of the amount of reading I've done._

 _The more important aspect of my general lack of knowledge on previously mentioned "Japanisms" is that I've never read the manga or seen all of Shippuden. Which means that, overall, I'm ignorant of a whole slew of things. My knowledge is patchy, I know things about the beginning and the end, yet the in between is shrouded in mystery. That being said, I will be starting from before the beginning, in order to establish a firm base on the characters concerned._

 _With all of that out of the way, Basic stuff._

 _Disclaimer: I neither own, nor claim to own, the property of Bethesda or Kishimoto/Shonen Jump. Their intellectual property will remain theirs until the bones of the world have turned to dust and all memory of earth lays unclaimed in that dust._

 _Hope you enjoy_

 _-ToobertSawk_


	2. Chapter 1 The Fox and the Wyrm

Chapter 1. The Fox and the Wyrm

Alduin was rather impressed, overall, with the skill of the Dovahkiin, or Dragonborn in the mortal tongue.

The girl, and she could only be called a girl given her youthful appearance, was a whirl of white blades as she fought the the giant warrior, Tsun, the guard of the bridge. The magic sewn into the blades flashed a blooded crimson and a shining vermilion, slowly sapping the brute of his strength and vitality. The heavy axe he wields never meets the armor she wears, made from the scales of his brethren. The fight was brief and very one sided, as the young Imperial gives off a shout, and encases the ancient champion in the ice of his own homeland, strong as Alduin's own bones. The large drake cannot hear from his perch atop a nearby hill, but he assumes the warrior is praising the young Dovahkiin on her skills with a blade.

Alduin watches as she carefully crosses the bridge to the halls of Sovngarde, the house of Shor. The fog he created grows stronger with time, the thick veil like smoke over the land is impenetrable to the eyes.

He does not expect it to last.

Lo and behold, the Dovahkiin walks out of the great building accompanied by three others, figures from his past he was absolutely certain he would see again as soon as he was banished into aetherius by the elder scroll. Alduin closes his eyes, and allows himself to fall off the peak of the hill.

The air whistles by, and Alduin feels himself almost laugh with glee. ' _Here, in the sky, is where the Dov_ truly _belong,'_ he says to himself. Slowly, as the ground approaches, the dragon unfolds his wings, letting the air catch under them. With a booming snap, his wings flick open, and he soars along the ground. For good measure, he gives off a shout.

" **Ven Mul Riik!"** His powerful voice booms across the land, flying high over the hills like the dragon himself as mist rushes up behind him. Alduin lets his wings drag him back into the mist, masking him further from sight than his ebony scales already did. Alduin alights onto a flat patch of stone as he watches the Dovahkiin and her allies cross the bones that serve as the bridge between the land of Sovngarde and the hall for which it is named.

Gormlaith stands in the front, her hair is uncovered and it sweeps about her shoulders. Her face is as fierce as ever, with a snarl marring her features. Warpaint, the traditional black of the times of old, slashed jaggedly across her features in three strokes, enhancing her fierce appearance. Alduin has never seen a fiercer warrior, and enjoyed their previous battle, brief though it was.

Hakon stood at her side, his countenance a stoic and stark contrast to the shield-maiden beside him. His mouth was set in a firm and grim line, and a shockingly cunning eye peered out from under a mop of brown hair, while the white, scarred orb lay open wide, unseeing in contrast to the other. The paint on his face was deceptive, as the blue pigment denoted him as a commander, while the crosshatch pattern showed his accolades as a tactician. He was intelligent and crafty, but young. Alduin respected the man greatly for his just belief of right and wrong, swift and heavy his judgement is.

Felldir, the oldest of them and the wisest, stood tall. Even in old age while he was alive, Felldir was stronger than even Tsun, easily lifting the great blade above his head. He stood tall, a frown on his face as a single hand held the massive blade over his shoulder. The blue swirl under his eye was telling to the old drake, naming this one a scholar and mage. His grey hair fell in such a way as to cover the other half, a great honor among many, a great shame for him. A dragon Priest in training. Felldir had more than earned the title in the black wyrm's opinion.

In front of them all stood the Dovahkiin, head shielded by a helmet made of scales. She was young, just upon her twenty second winter, he thought. She was shorter than all of the others, and slim, even for an imperial. He can not tell much through the armor, but he knows this for sure. She has little to no true skill with a blade.

The procession comes up to the wall of fog, staring at it with trepidation. Felldir walks up to it and gently, with one hand, sweeps his blade through it. The mist swirls around the edge before closing up, like a gash under healing hands. The old man backs up, a grim frown on his face.

"We cannot fight the foe in this mist," he says to the others. Gormlaith, ever strong willed, strides to the front and smiles wickedly at the wall of moisture called forth by a being of flames.

"Clear skies - combine our shouts!" she says loudly, before taking a deep breath. The others take up on her cue and do the same, before all as one release a booming call.

" **Lok Vah Koor!"** The mist splits down the middle. The walls of mist rise up high into the air like a great beast, and fade into the polychromatic sky. On their own, they are a force to be reckoned with, but together they are more than enough to take down even the strongest of dragons. Fiery excitement boils in Alduin's soul, and he gives the best approximation of a grin he can.

" **Ven Mul Riik!"** He shouts again, letting the mist off once more, this time in a less thick blanket. He quickly scurries along the ground and over the hill's crest with scraping, digging claws, getting closer to the Dovahkiin and her party. He stops close by, and looks over the crest of the hill through his mist. All but the Dovahkiin are discouraged by the reappearing wall of clouds.

"Does his strength have no end?" Hakon One Eye says morosely, his tone taking on a sorrowful edge. "Is our struggle in vain?"

Gormlaith steps forward and draws her blade, pointing it at the larger man. "Stand fast! His strength is failing! Once more and his might will be broken!" Alduin almost gives himself away with a snort most unbecoming of the lord of the Dov. The mortal had always been foolish, even in life when the void was much more certain. Strong she is, wise and intelligent she is not.

' _The strength of the Dov only weakens in Death, mortal warrior. I am not dying yet,"_ he assures them mentally. The group stands tall once more, the young imperial at the fore looking as fierce as the dragon soul she holds within herself. They bear forward once more, and shout as one,

" **Lok Vah Koor!"** The wave of energy barrels forward and twists, streaming through the mist and strangling it wisp by dwindling wisp. Alduin is once more impressed at the power shown by the quartet. His feral grin only widens as he retreats with the mist, showing shocking agility with swift hops, emulating the standard flight pattern most of the Dov learn at birth. He can hear Gormlaith once more giving the others motivation he believes they sorely need.

"The endless wait gives way to battle! Alduin's doom, his death or ours!" she cries, before quickly drawing breath and shouting out a ball of flames the size of a mammoth.

" **Yol Toor Shul!"** the flames rush at him, a roaring, howling inferno. Alduin briefly snaps his wings to his sides, swiftly dipping under the sunforged shout only to meet head on with that accursed abomination the three had made of his sacred tongue. The one thing that Alduin can say he truly hates, and that he can hate the mortals below him for ripping out of his language.

Dragonrend, the sickly teal wave of death strikes him full on in the breast, knocking him out of the sky and onto his claws where Felldir waits with his massive sword, the tip dug into the ground and the blade angled behind him, one hand at the fore. The standard style of the Akaviri, likely learned after Alduin's banishment.

The old Nord pivots on his toe and brings the blade up as Alduin lands just in front of him, before bringing it down with earth shattering force straight onto the World Eater's forehead. The force of the swing cracks the great ebony dragon's scales, and slams his head into the ground hard enough to dent and fracture the frozen earth.

Alduin swiftly responds by lashing out with tooth and fang, repeatedly trying to bite the herculean elder. The man was strong, but not swift, as his immortal soul took several large gashes before Gormlaith came in with her shield held up and her blade pointed forward, parallel to the ground. She stopped on a septim, brought the shield back before, with a mighty swing, she took Alduin off of his claws with a heavy shield bash.

Righting himself in the air as the accursed shout wore off, the wyrm took off once more into the air, giving off an angered howl.

"Strong as ever, warriors of the nine! But you will need more than mulaag do strunmah, the strength of mountains, to kill me!" he howls at them from the air. With force he releases a stream of flames much more impressive than the Nord female's, almost thrice as large. It scorches the ground between the two he had previously come into contact with. With swiftness befitting someone of her size, the Dovahkiin jumps in front of the two and throws up a ward, the strength of which Alduin tests for a solid thirty seconds with his flames. It stands firm.

"Aetherius has blessed you, Dovahkiin. Krein kriist naal hi. Sunlight stands by you," the Dovahkiin looked confused briefly before her eyes lit up in recognition.

"Magnus," she said, her honey like voice whispering into the air. It struck Alduin again that she was exceptionally young, but had achieved so much. He watched as her hands lit up with lightning, the one magical form a shout did not exist for. ' _It was a shame Durnehviir had never finished that project,'_ Alduin thought briefly.

"If that's the case, I guess you won't be too shocked by this," she said with a smirk. She lowered her stance, her arms darting about in angular, jolting patterns, the lightning in her hands trailing after in clouds of static. A storm built up in her hands as she pulled her palms close to her chest. With a yell, she thrust both arms forward towards the massive dragon, a solid beam of blue electricity flying at the world-eater at light speed. The pillar of lightning collided with the flying one, knocking him about with its tremendous force.

Alduin bit back a shout in more than one way, and quickly landed out of reach of the imperials magic, behind the hill.

Hakon stood there, waiting, an axe raised high.

Alduin looked at the man as he swung the blade, and saw no more.

 _ **Meanwhile, in a distant land, far separated from Tamriel and, indeed, all of Nirn**_

'This is awful' thought the large red being, locked away behind a large gate. The massive entity had said this before when looking upon his environment, all those times wallowing in self pity. This time was not so different.

He looked out at his surroundings, a dark, dank sewer, with a toe-high level of water always at the bottom. If he had a corporeal form, the red being was sure he'd have trench foot. The walls were lined with pipes, all glowing a soft blue, leading up and out of sight to a ceiling beyond that of shadows. The cage the "demon" was locked inside of was simply a set of side by side vertical bars, the centermost being bound by a single piece of paper, upon which lay an eastern character, made up of swirls and jagged edges, loops and corners. It meant exactly as most would think, given the situation. "Seal" it said, and so it was.

And so the beast inside, the Kyuubi no Kitsune, or the Nine Tailed Fox, Kurama, hated it. With a burning fiery passion did Kurama hate the bars that held him. He had thrashed and screamed and shouted, beating against the bars for hours, days, weeks, months. And yet, that single piece of paper, with the intricate design, held the bars strong.

So now Kurama hated it in silence, ever immune to insanity due to his immortality. 'It might be better to go insane,' the fox thought. 'At least then I wouldn't have to go through this insufferable boredom alone,'

Just as this thought entered the fox's head, the ridiculously expected occurred. A rip opened in the wall, inside a swirl of white and blue wind siphoned out like a great vortex of chakra and snow, bringing with it the sound of a deep chorus of wind and voices, all chanting in some odd, guttural language. The fox deadpanned in a moderately stereotypical fashion, expression flat and eyes half lidded.

He watched the rip through narrowed eyes, half expecting a _human_ to pop out. Kurama nearly screamed in fury at just the thought of having to deal with one of those meatbags. The maggot that had sealed him in here had the audacity to force his power into a child. A _human_ child. Kurama shook his head at the thought, growling low.

The rip seemed to spark and sputter, spitting out gouts and gusts of grey energy, the ethereal emergent smacking against the other side of the large room. The sputtering steadily increased in intensity, yet the sound remained level, an ever calm whistling hum accompanied by baritone voices. The contrast irritated Kurama.

Finally, the sparking seemed to come to a head, before the rip exploded, sending out a large black silhouette, before closing up and receding, as if it had never been. Kurama paid it no mind as he gazed at the black form on the ground, slowly getting up and shaking the water off its head on all fours. It's large, leathery wings masked its head from view, though it looked like it was rubbing its eyes.

"Damned one eyed Mun, an eye for an eye indeed," it said in a voice even deeper than Kurama's. The odd being brought its head over its wings to show a reptilian face, covered in scales and horns. A quickly healing gash over the being's eyes told what the beast was talking about. The… _individual_ was tiny in comparison to Kurama, only coming up to his knees while standing and snout while sitting.

Kurama silently observed as the being regained… his, Kurama guessed… bearings.

Alduin stood up out of the water, feeling his eyes heal after the blow that Hakon One-eye had dealt to them. It was a disoriented Dov that saw the large, dank room he was in. Alduin nearly panicked at the thought of a lack of open sky above him, but he quickly reined himself in. Best to address the current situation.

The elephant in the room was, of course, the massive Daedra sealed behind a veritable fortress made almost entirely out of Arkay's power. He turned towards the being, and locked eyes with the giant fox sealed behind the bars. They studied each other for a while, each taking in the other, neither saying a word. This went on for a few minutes before the Daedra reached the limit on his patience.

"What business have you here, little one?" the larger of the two said with an air of superiority. Alduin felt a brief spike of irritation at the Daedra. He knew the fox was not referring to his size.

"I am not certain, young fox," Alduin resisted a draconic smirk as he saw the fox scowl fiercely. "as just moments ago I was fighting for my… Qalos, my existence. I know not what brought me here, but fate has a hand in it," he said in an overly formal manner. It was a lie, he knew his father's power as soon as his soul flew out of his corpse just as the Dovahkiin slew him with a bolt of lightning. The fox bore his teeth, and slowly rose from his seated position. He stalked up to the bars and pressed his face against them. Slowly, the room's temperature rose as the fox exerted his massive power, and the larger one growled low and deep.

"You would do well to mind your tongue, lizard. I am Kurama, the strongest of all the bijuu, the tailed beasts. I have leveled mountains on a whim, destroyed civilizations, crushed cities under foot. You are no match for me," the fox, Kurama, said in a menacing tone. Alduin resisted a snort as he stalked up to the bars as well.

"And yet here you are, locked away in a cage like an animal, meant for the entertainment of Kiir Se Mun, human children," the fox roared in rage as he crashed up against the bars in front of an unflinching Aldun, who stared through the bars with an emotionless gaze.

"I am Alduin, hailed as the World Eater by the Mun of Nirn. I am the firstborn of Akatosh, the lord of the Aedra and the god of time. I lead the Dov that conquered a reality, I had the strongest of the Thu'um. I am the end of time, the harbinger of the apocalypse. You are no threat to me, Feyn Wah Golz, bane to stones, especially not when you are in that cage," Kurama seemed to get more and more angry as the speech went on. His fury came to a head when Alduin finished his monologue.

"Know this, _Alduin_ , when this boy falls, you will die!" he hissed. Alduin looked confused for a moment.

"Boy?" he asked, his eyes narrowed in a lack of understanding. Kurama gave off a feral grin as the room cooled off. He started to laugh, a deep, hollow tone, devoid of happiness and filled with amusement.

"If you are in here with me, even if you are not in this cage, you are just as trapped as I am. This seal limits my ability to exert my power over my prison, a young boy. Only I can do this because of our connection, but you? You can only give. You cannot exert your will over MY prison. You are even more a prisoner than I am! More a slave than a king now aren't you, world eater?" Kurama started to laugh hysterically at the situation as Alduin thought on his position. The boy Kurama was talking about seemed to function much like a vessel that the Daedra took every once in awhile. If that was the case, unless Alduin formed some sort of spiritual connection with 'the boy,' as the fox had called him, he was stuck. Alduin would, of course, be stuck until the boy died, and even then the aftermath would be ambiguous. The boy could die, and then he would be released, or he could die with the boy. Then there was Kurama to factor in. What became of him should his prison perish?

"It seems we are stuck at an impasse. Neither of us can escape, I have more freedom within the prison, you have more influence outside of it. It would be the best for both of us to form a… _Frul_ ," he growled out the word with venom, "Gron. A temporary bond, an alliance," Alduin reluctantly suggested. Kurama snorted, though by his expression, or as much expression as Kurama can have with a fox face, he seemed to realize the benefits.

"Indeed," he said, retreating from the bars. He still looked angry, but had seemingly moved past it. A good trait for an immortal. He sat down and looked the ebony dragon straight in the eyes. "But this does not make us friends. The moment I have no need of you, you will be left at the wayside," he said as he lay his head down on his paws.

"One does not conquer a planet alone, Kurama," Alduin said sagely, before he took to the air and clung to a wall. He gouged out a pit in the wall, and melted the stone inside to provide a smoother surface. Repetitive strikes and gouts of fire filled the silence between the two divine beings. After Alduin had finished, he lay down in the divot, and rested his head between his winged claws. The whole process was brief, given Alduin's physical strength and his magical prowess.

Kurama looked up at the hole the dragon had disappeared into. The walls outside the cage did not seem to be charged with the shinigami's and the Namikaze's chakra or his own power. He simply gave a brief sigh before he rested his head again on his forelimbs.

"I guess not, World Eater," he muttered lowly. With that, the two immortals fell asleep. As asleep as an immortal could get, anyway.

 _ **Outside the immortal prison**_

A young boy sat outside a shop, rain drenching his form. He scowled petulantly, cerulean eyes gazing out from under drenched blonde locks with childish anger. The sign on the shop proclaimed it as a grocery store. Inside stood an angry man, tall and large. His brown hair was held under a straw hat that did a decent job of keeping the rain off of him.

"Why can't I go in?" the boy asked angrily. "All I want is some milk for my cereal, is that something I'm not allowed to do anymore?" the young boy crossed his arms as he stared at the man. His orange jumpsuit squelched as he did this, and more water dripped onto his legs. The man gazed at him angrily from under his hat, and his scowl deepened.

"Because the last time you were here you put paint bombs in all of my employee's aprons! I had to throw away over a 2,000 yen worth of fresh produce because most of those bombs went off when we were restocking, and the paint wouldn't wash off! Not only did you cost me money, but your presence alone cost me business because of your bad reputation! Until you can repay the damages, you won't be buying anything from my store. I'm sorry Naruto, but you have cost me too much money," he said. He seemed sorry for the boy, but Naruto had been around enough people who were angry at him to tell the difference between being apologetic and being relieved. The man walked back into the store, and flipped the open sign to closed. Naruto just glared at the establishment before shaking his fist at the store and shouting.

"Well your milk was always rotten anyways! Whatever, I don't need you! I'll get my own cows and make a whole bunch of milk! And you won't get any, and then when I become Hokage, my milk will be the most bought milk ever, and you'll have to buy it! Yeah, you'll see!" he shouted petulantly before getting up and stalking off. He stomped down the road, away from the store and towards his apartment.

"Whatever. I have ramen anyway, and cereal isn't so bad dry. He's gonna regret not letting me get milk when I become Hokage. Wait… no, old man Hokage said that you aren't supposed to do that. And aside from the fourth, he's supposed to be the best. Damn it. That bastard Sasuke probably buys his milk anyway," the young boy's inner monologue continued as he stalked towards his apartment. As he walked inside, he glanced at the calendar, and nearly split his own face in half with his grin.

' _Just a few more days and I'll be a ninja. Then, it's only a hop, skip and a jump to Hokage. I'll be the best ninja ever in no time at all! Then Sakura will have to notice me, and Iruka-sensei will be really proud, and so will old man Hokage and Ichiraku and Ayame!'_ he kept on smiling as he walked over to a cupboard on the wall, passing over clothes and empty ramen cups strewn about on the floor. The walls of the apartment were cracked and the paint was falling off. The ceiling was sagging and the entire room as a whole was drafty and poorly insulated. This all escaped Naruto as he opened the cupboard and grabbed one of the many Ramen cups, and a pan sitting next to the stack.

Pan in one hand and cup in the other, he walked outside and held the pan out in the rain. He jumped about impatiently as it slowly filled, and nearly cheered in excitement when the level reached a mark on the inside, indicating the proper level for ramen making. The orange clad youth went back inside, nearly hopping in excitement as he put the pot on a dingy, two section gas stove and turned on the appliance. As the ramen cooked, Naruto took off his soaked shirt and pants and set them on a wire hanging from his ceiling to drip dry. Naruto sat and groaned and moaned as he watched the pot slowly come to a boil and nearly shouted in excitement when it finally did. The excitement he felt quickly receded as he poured the water into the cup and realized he would have to wait some more for the noodles to properly soften.

After this was done and his ramen was properly eaten, Naruto quickly scurried through his apartment to his room, blocked only by a torn curtain, as the door had fallen off long ago. His bed wasn't so much a bed as it was a torn up futon mattress he found in a dumpster when he was younger. The blanket was new, a surprise gift from Shino Aburame on his birthday a few months ago that he and his parents had made for him from some of their insect's silk. The entire situation was awkward, as he had cried when he had received it, and he had hugged the quiet boy. Shino took it surprisingly well, saying that 'it was the first step of a greater plan that was made long ago. Why? I don't know, as my parents refuse to tell me,' and that had been that. Later that same day, Kiba had given him the pillow that currently rested on his bed.

That gift had been slightly less awkward as he and Kiba were sort of friends. The gift had been made out of a standard pillowcase, but the stuffing was carefully doctored fur from the family dogs, clean and softer than any form of cotton or foam. Naruto gave off a loud yawn and slowly crawled onto the mattress. He put on the nightshirt and pajama pants that always rested at his bedside, the worn clothes providing extra comfort that helped coax him to sleep, and a green, frog themed hat that he had received in the mail one day from a 'super pervert' along with a rather hefty sum of cash, in a frog themed wallet, that had come every month since then. Naruto had tried many times to track down the mystery man to thank him, but had failed just as many times.

The young lad pulled the blanket up and over his form, and snuggled into the soft silk. Within moments, the boy was sound asleep.

 _AN: So, this is chapter one of my first production. The idea of this chapter was to establish characters with a particular focus on Alduin's personality, Kyuubi's general unhingedness and almost bipolar mood-swings, and Naruto's situation in his environment. Here are the details for ease of understanding._

 _Alduin: Alduin is an immortal, obviously, but he was also a ruler for a rather long time, enough time to fill crypts up with draugr and build several dozen tombs and shrines to the greatness of his kind. Alduin would have to be level-headed and logical to keep any dynasty up for that long. He is also the firstborn of Akatosh, again obviously, so he would logically put a lot of stock into time and fate. He didn't really have too flushed out a character in Skyrim, so I'm taking a few creative liberties._

 _Kurama: Kurama is also immortal, but he never had to rule anything more than himself. I know of his whole situation with Kushina slightly, along with 'Madara', and that is still a part of this, though it wouldn't be too far out of his character, at least so far as I have established, to simply rampage on a moment's notice if the thought occurred to him that he would come out decidedly on top, and it was sufficiently amusing._

 _Naruto: I have read a whole bunch of stories where Naruto is abused beyond belief, and some where he is treated in only a moderately distasteful manner, and one where Kakashi adopts him, which I didn't finish. I am setting up an in-between kind of thing, where Naruto's situation is certainly bad, yes, almost terrible, but not outright torturous. The ramen scene was made to highlight how bad his situation was, bad living arrangement, propensity to use natural resources when possible, lack of food and such._

 _Super Pervert: I am really annoyed when authors portray him in such a way that is neglectful beyond belief. Sure, the man is busy, but not so much that he wouldn't come by and check up on Naruto every once in awhile and help him out a little. The only reason he hasn't outright adopted Naruto yet is because of how busy and dangerous his job is, along with simply being associated with him._

 _So, tell me what you think, and I'll post the next chapter when it's ready._


	3. Chapter 2 The First Test

_AN: It occurred to me while I was writing this that there are a bunch of things I neglected to take into account concerning Naruto. First, his relationship with Iruka. I read up on it on the wiki when I was a good way into the chapter and, to prevent spoiling things for myself, only got to when they got on good terms. Then, there's the academy system and how Naruto went with it. He failed the Genin test I think three times in canon, including his final failure before the Mizuki incident, yet he is the same age as the rest of his class when he should be considerably older, so I thought 'well how am I going to do this?' So I created the system in this chapter. Not sure if it's correct, but fuck it. Finally, there's the whole 'Naruto is too old to be considerably influenced in a useful way by Kurama or Alduin before important things happen' deal. Hence the academy system. It also works well in canon concerning Kakashi and Itachi, who both graduated ahead of time. So, this is the FIRST time he fails the test. Not the last._

Chapter 2. The First Test

Naruto awoke with a jolt, sitting up quickly. The blood that rushed into his head caused a brief spike of pain and a feeling of nauseousness. His vision darkened for a brief moment, but faded just as briefly. Naruto, normally not one to be patient, diverted from the norm as he took a brief, calming breath, and slowly let it out. He felt his chest release the pressure, and his shaky breath met the air. He slowly, almost tentatively began to smile, before a large grin and giggles quickly filled his face and the air respectively. He laughed hysterically for a moment, the mirthful sounds filling the air and unnerving those who could hear even from the ground. The young boy jumped up and picked his still-damp clothes from the line in his living room, quickly picking off his nightwear as he went along to the bathroom to brush his teeth.

He came out a moment later, still smiling like a loon, breath fresh and minty as he picked his way over to his front door. With a quick turn and pull, he was out into the world, running down the stairs to ground level and onwards to the academy. The ground was still wet, and various puddles and streams of fallen rain dotted the landscape. The boy paid no mind to the dripping awnings and rooftops above his head as he eagerly made his way to the academy, ducking and dodging the early morning traffic that was present almost as if to spite the rain. The various pedestrians looked at the lad with scorn and fear as he passed by, some muttering under their breath to their neighbors, others yelling at the juvenile.

"Watch where you're going, you hooligan!" one old lady had yelled, followed by affirming shouts from nearby pedestrians.

"Sorry!" Naruto yelled, not really paying attention as he went on towards the academy.

He finally reached the academy, a mid-sized five story building that taught everything from basic alphabet and math to advanced battle strategy and mixed unit tactics. The green rooftop mixed with the beige walls gave the whole building a friendly, soft look, which was only reinforced by the added safety of the neighboring hokage building. The monument behind the academy overlooked the Leaf and stood as a silent guardian over future generations of shinobi.

Around the building were several students, each at least two to three years older than him. Naruto smiled as he remembered when Iruka-sensei had told the class about the opportunity that he was about to take.

AVAVAVAVAVAVAVAVAVAVAVAVAVAVA

Iruka smiled over his first year class, a group of nine and ten year olds that included what he believed to be future chunin and jonin of the Leaf. He had little to no doubt that most of the children before him would make a name for themselves as great ninja.

The reason it was _most_ and not _all_ lie with a small boy, clad in a garish orange jumpsuit who was currently snoring loudly at the front of the room. The other children laughed, Kiba holding a slingshot with a paper ball in it. Iruka stopped the boy with a silent glare, the boy in question giving a sheepish grin. Kiba sulkily returned the sling to his nearby pack. Iruka once more turned his attention to the snoring child. Iruka felt like he should be disappointed, but he knew that Naruto didn't really get a whole bunch of food. In fact, the young chunin was shocked that he looked as healthy as he did.

Shaking off those thoughts, Iruka subtly prepped the Big Head Illusion, a basic genjutsu that most learned to prank their friends, before he stepped up to the boy and lightly tapped him onto the shoulder. Naruto snorted and jerked straight up, nearly bashing in Iruka's nose with his skull. The class snickered and chuckled at the boy, who was currently looking at his sensei with nervous eyes. Said sensei was smiling serenely, his eyes closed and teeth shining.

"What exactly are you doing, Naruto?" the scar-faced Chunin asked with a pleasant, happy voiced. Naruto seemed to calm down slightly, smiling shakily up at the man.

"Um… Meditating, Sensei?" he asked with a nervous smile and shrug. Iruka simply nodded gently and put his hand on Naruto's shoulder. The boy seemed to relax more, actually giving a genuine smile at the man. Iruka almost felt sad for what he was about to do.

Almost.

"Well Naruto, I'm glad you're taking your training seriously," Iruka's attitude turned on a dime as his head grew to twice the size of his body. "IF ONLY YOU WOULD DO THE SAME WITH YOUR LESSONS!" Iruka's head quickly shrunk down, holding the same scowl that had been on his face moments ago. He glared at the hyperventilating youth before he resumed his lecture, after he got the laughing children to settle down.

"So, with _that_ over with, let's get back to it," Iruka glanced at the clock, noticing he only had a few minutes left before the day ended. He might not get another chance, so the lesson could wait this time.

"Actually, there's something I feel you guys should know. As you know, in two weeks' time, at the beginning of the regularly scheduled school day, the class two years ahead of you will be graduating, and your summer break will start two days after. This means there will be no school for the lower two classes," cheers were heard throughout the class, the loudest being from Kiba, Naruto and, surprisingly enough, Shikamaru, a boy that Iruka believed didn't have the motivation to cheer for anything. "The academy allows any able bodied students from _any_ class, including yours, to participate in the genin tests to see if they have the aptitude to become genin ahead of schedule. The Third and the Fourth both took this option, so if you pass, you might be on the route towards becoming Hokage," Iruka plugged his ears just before the expected shout from an orange clad student erupted from said student's mouth.

"I can graduate early?" he shouted excitedly. "Yes! Ha, now I'll be Hokage before that bastard even makes Genin!" he said with a haughty and self-superior tone, before jumping on top of his desk. "You hear that, Sasuke? You're gonna be calling me lord Hokage from this classroom!" Sakura, with help from Ino and several other fangirls, tackled the boy off the desk.

"Gack!" the boy shouted as several small, angry females collided with him at the same time.

"Don't insult Sasuke like that you idiot! There's no way you'll graduate before Sasuke, or be Hokage in the first place! If anything, it's you who'll be calling Sasuke Lord Hokage! Isn't that right, Sasuke?" she crooned at the dark haired youth. Said youth sat silently looking out the window, mouth a flat line and eyes half closed, giving off a distinctly bored and disinterested air. He gave a noncommittal grunt, neither confirming nor denying the statement. Most of the girls in the class sighed happily, and mutterings of 'cool' and 'handsome' floated around the room. Naruto simply scoffed at the reaction, sitting back in his seat and glaring at the Uchiha from his seat.

After all, even if you are 'cool', nobody is cooler than the Hokage…

AVAVAVAVAVAVAVAVAVAVAVAVAVAVA

Naruto walked up to the door and went inside, intent on finding Iruka to see how one would go about taking the Genin tests. He scoured the building, checking each and every room, until he finally found the young Chunin in the third story classroom that housed most of the third year class, the second and third year teachers, and the Third Hokage. Iruka and the Third both had similar looks on their faces, fond smiles and happy eyes, though the Third also had a brief look of sadness in his eyes. Iruka ushered the young blonde to his position next to the Third, and seemed to smile more brightly as the boy ran over with a large, glowing grin.

As the boy passed through, he took note of the room and its occupants. The second and third year Chunin sensei both glared balefully at the boy, who passed by with little confusion, thinking it was likely some prank from the past he had performed on them. There were several students as well, most also glaring at him, though not with hate or anger, but mostly with a sense of superiority. Two students he recognized from a few passing hellos stood off to the side, talking in hushed tones. The taller of the two had explosively spiky hair that went in all directions, while the other had noticeably straight hair, with bangs coming down between his eyes. They both waved at the blonde, who returned the gesture with youthful alacrity. There were a few other Chunin there as well, likely the assistants who only worked with the upper two classes as they were learning weapons, sparring, and basic chakra control exercises. They had the same look of hateful wrath that the teachers themselves held, with dark eyes and deep-set scowls. One even looked ready to attack the boy, who sheepishly smiled at him. That must have been one of his more annoying pranks.

He reached his closest friends and role models a moment later, smiling bright and hard at the both of them. The Third smiled down at him with soft eyes and a caring smile.

"So, do you believe you are ready to become a Genin, young Naruto?" he asked gently. The youngest of the group smiled bright as he gave the Third a smile and an emphatic thumbs up.

"You bet! Soon enough, that hat'll be mine, Old Man!" he shouted. The older men laughed at his reaction, Iruka even gently ruffling his hair. The blonde shouted and pushed his hand away, but still he smiled. This was going to be the greatest day of his life…

"Alright, gather 'round, students! Time for the written exam!" one of the chunin sensei called out to the mass. Naruto almost felt his dream sink with that statement. He jerked around to look at the Chunin with wide eyes and small pupils, his face getting paler as he stared at the amused black haired man. Written? That was just another way to spell 'Disaster' in Naruto's book.

Naruto went up to the man, not before bidding his two role models goodbye, and walked up to the Chunin who was busily handing out tests to the prospective Genin. He stopped as Naruto reached him, and slowly handed the boy a test. The Chunin was a bit paler than the rest, though only slightly, and had scrolls lining his jacket. He stared at the boy for a little bit, not with hate or detest, but with observing, analytical eyes. Said eyes lit up, their cerulean hue making them glow with recognition and surprise.

"A bit young, aren't you Uzumaki, to be taking the Genin test?" he said in an overly formal manner. Naruto immediately lost any and all doubt in himself as he glared up defiantly.

"No one's too young to be Hokage! You just gotta be the best! That's what I am, Naruto Uzumaki, soon to be the best Hokage the world has ever seen!" he announced loudly. The man looked less than impressed, though the look in Sarutobi's eyes keyed the Chunin into the Hokage's thoughts on the boy. He looked more proud of the child than he had of any other student since his own son Asuma.

"And what does it take to be Hokage, Uzumaki?" he asked. The boy responded with alacrity and intensity.

"The Hokage has to be the best ninja in the village in order to protect those who can't protect themselves! He has to be able to be strong and soft at the same time, and has to keep everyone safe no matter what! That's what a Hokage needs, and you better believe that I'm gonna be the best Hokage ever! That's a promise," the boy's speech seemed to draw attention to the pair from everyone in the room. Most of the other Chunin, save Iruka, seemed to be disgusted at the thought. The academy students mostly observed silently, while the two students he waved to looked ready to applaud him.

Hell, he wanted to clap for the young man himself.

"That is a great answer Uzumaki. However, there is never a fast track to becoming Hokage. I have little doubt you will eventually reach your goal, but time and, most importantly, _effort_ , are required in your quest. Here is your test," he handed the test to the shocked student, who swiftly bowed to the man.

"Thank you… Uh…" he looked up at the Chunin, who simply laughed amicably. He gave a slightly more shallow bow.

"Akio Hiroshi," he said with a slight grin.

"Thank you, Akio-Sensei," the younger said, before swiftly retreating to a desk near the Hokage, who was quietly conversing with Iruka. Akio gave the boy an appraising glance, before nodding and moving on with his work. ' _He has potential,_ ' he thought. He glanced around the room at the hate-filled chunin he worked with. ' _Potential they seek to destroy,_ ' This unnerved the man. Some were even starting to glare at him.

Naruto quickly attempted to progress through the test, many of the questions were so far above his level of knowledge that he simply skipped them. Every single question was a math or history based question, all of which were geared toward assessing the test-taker's tactical knowledge. Naruto wished he had Shikamaru to help him. The only questions he felt he did well on were the ones about the Hokage, the lessons on the subject were some of the only ones he paid attention to.

After the written exam, there was a weapon throwing test. All of the students walked out onto the training field. The test was gauged on how many shuriken and Kunai, each out of twenty-five, would hit the target, and how close to a vital spot each was. It scored out of 250, a rather ornery female Chunin had told them all, before she started handing out kunai and shuriken. She passed down the line, handing each student a standard issue pouch filled with the projectiles. She paused on Naruto, before pulling out a green pouch, noticeably different from the blue ones she was handing out earlier. She moved on without a word.

Naruto looked at the pouch and shrugged, thinking she was likely running low on the pouches and just picked out one of the different ones. He moved on down the line and stopped at an empty spot. The training field was a large area, with a fence a good thirty feet away from the targets, all wooden dummies lined up nicely. He reached into his pouch and drew out a kunai, as the Chunin had told him to do. He waited patiently, arm raised, for her signal.

"Alright, start throwing! Try to hit as close to the vitals as possible!" with that, the students all began to throw. Naruto's kunai were, more often than not, falling short of the target. He tried to increase the power in his throws, but even when the kunai hit, they didn't stick. He noticed the other students laughing at his failure. He didn't get it, when he practiced in the forest with the fallen kunai from this very training field, he usually hit the trees from a longer distance, and they always stuck when they hit.

Naruto reached the end of his patience and tossed a kunai as hard as he could, bolting it across the field. The knife hit the target in the center of the 'skull' and plowed directly through the tough wood. Naruto let out a cheer and reached for another Kunai.

He pulled out a shuriken.

"What?" he looked into the pouch. The kunai side was empty, all that was left was shuriken. He gaped at the half-empty bag, before his face turned red in rage.

"I only hit one? Really? Come on, I can do way better than that! I ALWAYS do better than that!" Naruto raged. He pouted, arms crossed and scowl firmly set in place. The other students and Chunin laughed at him, though Iruka, the Old Man, and Akio frowned. The two students, Kurotetsu and Izumo, that Naruto greeted as he walked in pat him on the shoulder's saying calming words and mentions of 'next time' and 'not over yet'. This seemed to make Naruto feel a little better, as the youngster set a determined grin on his face and, with a raised fist, declared his intentions to the world.

"I'm gonna pass this test with flying colors! No way will I lose to some stupid kunai!" he shouted as he waited for the other students to finish their throwing.

Things only deteriorated, however, as a similar problem with the kunai occurred with the shuriken. The stars would not stick when they hit, so Naruto proceeded to throw harder, and they were too heavy. Naruto aimed higher to account for this, though he had to adjust his power after that and they, again, wouldn't stick. Naruto grew frustrated and simply haphazardly tossed the shuriken towards the target, missing each time. When he ran out of shuriken, he sat om the ground and waited, with dark eyes and a frown.

After all of this was done, the same kunoichi who handed out the pouches collected the fallen weapons. The Old Man frowned a little and twitched almost imperceptibly, following up with a quiet sneeze. Naruto would have laughed at the comedic moment of the almost ever-composed elderly Hokage breaking face in such a manner, but he was busy being angry at himself for his failure.

"Now, for sparring! All students line up at the fighting ring, and the instructors will hand you numbers! 1 goes with 2, 3 with 4 and so on!" Naruto jumped up with a grin, knowing for sure that he would be successful. He stood at the front of the line, having hurried from his place to the right of the ring, and waited for his number. The Chunin there, a brown haired young man with a bandanna and small, rounded sunglasses, turned his nose up at the boy and dropped a piece of cardstock on the ground in front of him, before calling out for the next student. Naruto bent down and picked up his number, reading the swirling character quickly.

13

Naruto went over to his old spot and, with uncharacteristic silence, waited for his turn.

AVAVAVAVAVAVAVAVAVAVAVAVAVAVA

Almost an hour passed by, filled with fights that Naruto thought of as lackluster. Where were the jutsu, and the explosions? It was a travesty. He felt slighted. Naruto had, nonetheless, been watching closely, and had observed both the numbers being called, and the fights between the ones holding them. They were disappointing.

"Would numbers 13 and 14 please step into the ring?" the chunin called out. Naruto leapt up with a yell and bolted towards the ring, leaping over the fence that lined the outside. He eagerly waited as his opponent made themselves known. They stepped out of the crowd in what appeared to be a flowing white gown, that curled about their feet and loosely came up to a belt at the hips. The top of the dress was a soft periwinkle, and covered their entire upper body minus a small patch on each shoulder. The blue sleeves came out in a wide bell, covering the hands of the wearer. Naruto finally got a look at his opponent's face. She was pretty, but her blank expression detracted from her looks.

She had black hair that came down to just below the shoulder, held in a loose ponytail, with her bangs covering her forehead. She wore no makeup and no jewelry, at least not that the young boy could see. She stared at him with blank white eyes, similar to the ones that Hinata had. Slowly, and without a word, she slipped into a low, balanced stance. Naruto raised his fists and spread his legs slightly, lowering his center of gravity. The chunin in charge raised a hand.

"Naruto Uzumaki, first year academy student and early Graduation tryout versus Nami Hyuuga, third year academy student, top kunoichi and prospective Genin! Fight!" he backed away as the girl burst into motion, eyes focused and veins bulging. With a simple pivot she stopped in front of Naruto, who had yet to move, and thrust her hand forward, impacting his forehead. He was unconscious within the first five seconds of the match. Iruka sighed and carried the boy out of the ring, setting him to the side. He personally didn't agree with the current system of taijutsu examination. It was effective for sifting out the best fighters, but it relied on luck for some of them. A good fighter may be paired up with a prodigy on the get-go, and could be taken out early. The Third was attempting to fix it, but Danzo's supporters in the council were firmly against it.

Iruka set the boy down near the Third, who had called him over afterwards. After a quick, basic medical jutsu that all academy teachers learn before getting licensed, Naruto was cleared for the next part of the test when the rest of the fights were finished. The rest of the fights were much like the last ones, with the students dancing around each other clumsily in most cases. Nami ended up being the top taijutsu specialist by taking every single one of her opponent in almost the exact same way, a single jyuuken strike to the forehead.

When all of this was done, the final test that Iruka, The Third, and a black haired, red eyed Kunoichi Special Jonin, a talent scout that The Third had brought in case there was a student who had a future as a genjutsu specialist, much like herself. Naruto was first, the excited little blonde having jumped at the thought of a ninjutsu test. He had learned only one jutsu from Iruka, the transformation, and he wished to show it off to the best of his ability. Iruka and The Third both knew he would fail, but it would be helpful to the boy to know exactly what would be required of him to become a genin.

Naruto ran in and came to a sudden stop in front of the three, smiling bright for all of them. The Special Jonin, Kurenai, smiled back softly, having been amused by his enthusiasm. Iruka smiled at him as well, and gave him an encouraging nod. The Hokage remained silent and stern, as being professional in such an environment would help Naruto after his failure more than being too soft.

"Alright then, Naruto, for this test there are three required jutsu. Iruka has told me that he only taught you one, so that is what you will show us today. That being said, it is impossible for you to truly pass this test, but it will give us a good starting point with the other two academy jutsu," Hiruzen stated calmly. Naruto's face fell for a moment before, with a shake of his head, he focused once more.

"Alright Old Man, Iruka-sensei… Pretty Lady, get ready to have your socks knocked off!" Kurenai merely rolled her eyes a little at the title, though she seemed to appreciate the compliment nonetheless. Iruka gave a nod for the boy to start.

"Transformation Jutsu!" he shouted, and a cloud of smoke exploded around him. The three waited for a moment as the smoke wore off, and were a little surprised at what they saw. Naruto had attempted to transform into the Hokage and, of course, it was not up to snuff, though his progress for his age was impressive. The haori that the elder wore was nearly perfect, minus the trim of the robe itself, and the hat was flawless. Naruto had done a good job of capturing the darkness of the older man's skin and had gotten the wrinkles down properly, but the height didn't match up. The whiskers and eyes of the blonde were still present, though his hair color had faded to the proper shade of salt and pepper gray. A failed illusion by Genin standards, a rousing success for a first year academy student, having only learned the jutsu and no chakra control exercises.

The Hokage told him as much. "Very well done, Naruto," he said brightly. "Very well done indeed. Some size issues and minor details to work out, but otherwise the transformation is quite convincing. Unfortunately, it is not perfect, and it has to be to pass this portion of the test. I'm sorry, Naruto, but you'll have to go to the academy next year and continue your studies," Naruto, though definitely disappointed, had expected this. Kurenai had to suppress a chuckle at seeing the visage of the old man pout like a small child.

"Okay Old Man, but you gotta promise to help me pass next time, okay?" he stated loudly, surprising the three once more at having perfectly mimicked the wizened warriors voice. Hiruzen simply shook his head with a grin and looked up at the boy, who had yet to dispel the illusion.

"Okay, but only if Iruka allows it and if you can get your work in on time. You must also attend ALL of your classes, otherwise I won't help you," he firmly stated, eyes narrowed at the boy. Naruto just groaned, but reluctantly nodded. Iruka hoped that this worked, as Naruto might have actually perfected the transformation, had he gone to all of the classes he missed. Naruto went outside of the building, passing all of the other students, who either laughed as he passed or gave him pitying looks. Naruto honestly didn't know which was worse.

He stepped out of the academy building and went towards his apartment, contemplating the day as he walked, eyes on the ground. He errantly kicked stones as he passed, and listened to the sounds of birds, dogs, and irritated muttering.

Naruto looked up as he noticed the last one, seeing Sasuke Uchiha standing at the corner of a building and looking around. He stopped for a moment, and was about to pass on, when a muttering came to his head.

AVAVAVAVAVAVAVAVAVAVAVAVAVAVA

 _Inside the immortal's prison…_

Alduin sat in front of Kurama, staring at the fox. He, of course, knew what the fox was talking about when he said that he could see what the boy saw, and was trying to understand how. It might be a good way to establish a connection to the boy, after all. He watched closely as the fox chuckled at something he could not see, his eyes glazed over. Alduin felt out of the loop, and wanted to be able to experience the outside world. Even after only what kurama had told him was a week, he was going a little stir-crazy. He could of course use soul-tear, but that would only serve to open up a path into the boy's mind, and cause irreversible damage. Of course he could modify the ethereal form shout and the whirlwind sprint shout, which contrary to the belief of the graybeards did NOT make one go fast, but rather opened up a small wormhole briefly and allowed one to move from one place to another quickly. Just because their mortal minds couldn't process teleportation doesn't mean it isn't there.

But even that wouldn't work. It would only serve to teleport him into the boy's mind and, again, cause irreversible damage by putting a large amount of foreign energy inside of his mind. Alduin continued to ponder on this as he sat and stared at the fox. He was frowning now, muttering about 'meaningless praise' and 'failure'. The fox's eyes had a small purple glow to them, a mixture of the boy's chakra, which the fox had to use to use his senses, and his own. Alduin reached an epiphany in that moment.

' _Oblivion Gates. I could inject a summoning spell into the boy's magika pool, tie it to myself, and modify the clairvoyance spell with the Cat men's Keen Sight Spell, then wrap them all together, and send it into the boy's mind with the Whirlwind Sprint shout. Because the amount of energy is so small, there will be no ill effects. It may fail of course, being entirely experimental, but it's worth a try. No other choice currently.'_ His inner monologue concluded, Alduin set to work. Being a combination of basic spells and a shout, it was a quick process. The clairvoyance spell, along with the keen eyes spell, would serve to remove his sight from himself, while the whirlwind sprint would put his sight inside the boy's mind, if done correctly. The whole plan hinged on the removal portion of the clairvoyance spell.

The spell was prepped, now all there was to do was to tie a shout to it, the best method for the moment. Alduin formed the words in his mind and shaped the spell to it, the twisting and curling magic falling into the sharp lines of the dragon language. Alduin, satisfied at his work, raised his head up and let loose his voice, his shout, his brand new Thu'um.

" _ **Koraav Mindok Mindoraan!**_ " the ghostly white essence rushed from his mouth and over his form, cloaking him in a blizzard-like energy. Kurama, hearing the disturbance, canceled his viewing and stared at the dragon, wondering why the overgrown lizard was suddenly yelling nonsense. The scaled being curled up and proceeded to lay on the ground in the water, the liquid parting around him to form a dry patch. Kurama simply shook his head and attempted to regain entry into the boy's senses when he realised that he couldn't. The dragon must have cut him off.

AVAVAVAVAVAVAVAVAVAVAVAVAVAVA

 _With Alduin_

Alduin came to the conclusion very quickly that, not only did his shout work stupendously well, but that the boy in question had a very odd world. The buildings were brightly colored and vibrant, and each was built fairly tall. There were many people walking around, more than Alduin had seen in a very long time. He didn't understand the odd characters on the buildings or on peoples clothes, all of which were as bright as the buildings, if not more so. The people that passed by the boy didn't seem to like him very much, some even angry at just the sight of him. That seemed to take up a majority of the adult population.

Up ahead, Alduin saw a boy with black hair hiding behind a building. He wore a shirt the color of midnight, with a red and white symbol that looked like an odd leaf, or a round shield with a single prong coming out of the bottom.

' _Bastard…'_ a voice whispered in Alduin's ear. The dragon jumped a little, having expected to be alone, though he quickly came to recognize the source of the voice. He was in the center of the boy's consciousness. Maybe his shout worked too well... The boy had stopped moving, and feelings of hate and contempt flowed through his mind, as well as sadness and grief. Memories played in Alduin's head, most of the boy being lavished with attention and ignoring him. The black haired youth hadn't done much, according to the memories. Alduin wouldn't have this hate, it was illogical, and would only end up destroying the boy. The 'Bastard' seemed troubled, maybe there was some way to patch up their relationship through that. He hoped the connection was two way.

"Go to him," Alduin said softly. The boy jumped a little, and his viewpoint bolted around suddenly. Alduin smiled at his success.

AVAVAVAVAVAVAVAVAVAVAVAVAVAVA

 _With Naruto_

Naruto was confused. ' _What's with the voice?'_ he thought to himself. It spoke to him quietly, and it's suggestio was generally unappealing. However, his gut had never lied to him before, and this voice seemed to be an extension of that. He would see where it led.

"Hey Sasuke!" he yelled. Sasuke jolted and turned sharply, eyes wide. The fear in his eyes mixed with anger as he glanced around quickly, before focusing on Naruto again.

"Shut up you idiot, or they might find-"

"There he is!" Sasuke actually screamed a little as he heard the voice and bolted in Naruto's direction. Naruto glanced behind him and yelped at the sight of nearly two dozen females, all with wide, crazed eyes and equally wide smiles. Sakura and Ino stood at the fore.

"Come back, Sasuke!" they yelled as the entire group began to stampede after them. Naruto yelled and ran after Sasuke, in the opposite direction of the stampede. Sasuke had not gained too much ground. He was fairly fast, but navigating the populated environment was still new to him, and Naruto could see that. The blonde boy quickly caught up to the ebony-haired one and ran alongside him. They ducked and dived between the crowds that lined the streets, Naruto with notable skill and Sasuke with mindless desperation. The threw debris behind them, garbage cans and boxes that lined the alleys, some of which they ended up going through.

"What the heck is up with them?" he almost screamed at the other boy. Sasuke looked at the blonde and nearly tripped due to his inattention.

"I don't know! They've never done this before! Especially not Ino, she would be more worried about her makeup than getting to me!" Naruto nodded in understanding. The girls, while almost obsessed with Sasuke, wouldn't form a mob to chase him. Naruto looked for a way out, a practice that he had become skilled at from the many ANBU based pursuits that followed his multiple pranking sprees. He spotted a tall, pink building with a series of low windows. On the sill of one window was a rail, behind which were several plants.

"There, that house!" he said, pointing at his find. Sasuke followed as Naruto ran towards the building and jumped onto the rail. Sasuke followed and jumped up next to him. Sasuke looked at the mob and was frightened to see that some were hopping on the rooftops while those on the ground continued to give chase.

"We didn't shake them, and we're not high enough to avoid the ones on the ground!" he yelled at Naruto. The blonde, thinking quickly, told Sasuke his plan.

"We need to get to one of the higher windows, then into the building! If we're lucky, this place is important, and they won't follow us in. If we aren't, I know some places that no one will follow us into!" Naruto had to yell over the approaching stampede. He put his hands down low and motioned for Sasuke to step on them. With a grunt, the blonde lifted up the lighter Sasuke, and climbed up to the higher window with Sasuke's assistance. They continued to do this for a few seconds, making quick headway. The building hopping females were getting close when Naruto put his elbow into a window and cleared the glass, before climbing in and pulling sasuke with him.

They found themselves in an office building, with several shinobi staring at the intruders. Naruto paid them no mind as he searched for a way out, but Sasuke was worried about the break-in they just performed. What if they were arrested? Or killed by some knife-happy ninja? How would he train if he was in a cell? What would-

"Let's go, this way!" Naruto said with similar desperation to the the boy beside him. He grabbed the darkly dressed boy by the arm and dragged him along through the building, carefully leaving all equipment undisturbed to avoid leaving a trail. Naruto found what he was looking for in another window, which he opened and ushered the Uchiha through.

"Come on! They might still be following us!" Sasuke snapped out of his funk immediately and almost leaped out of the window, with it shutting quickly and tightly behind him. They heard screams and panic from inside the building. The girls must have made it in.

"Come on, let's go before they catch us!" Sasuke nodded at his ally, and both rushed off, the blue clad prodigy following the orange clad delinquent. Naruto led him through several districts, some poor, some wealthy. Every once in awhile they encountered an extremely alert female academy student, whom they avoided like the plague. Sometimes they split up, and Naruto made a chaotic and destroyed path for the girls to follow, before going quietly through a different route and meeting up with Sasuke again at a predetermined location. They stuck together because Sasuke knew he wouldn't escape without Naruto's help, and Naruto actually found this kind of fun.

Naruto led Sasuke towards his apartment after specifying where they were going, knowing that only Kiba, Shino, Shikamaru and Choji knew where it was. He didn't know how Shino found out, but the boy had arrived at his door with the blanket.

Sasuke agreed, thankful for the anonymity of the place in question. They made it there with speed, and came up to the door clear of pursuers. Naruto quickly unlocked the door, ushered Sasuke inside, then shut and locked the door behind him. They both sighed in relief as Naruto led the boy through his home. Sasuke seemed unbothered by the mess, and simply sat down at Naruto's table. The boy who lived in the apartment went about making some ramen for both himself and Sasuke, after confirming that, yes, even bastards had good taste. The insult lacked it's usual venom, and instead came in a teasing tone. Sasuke seemed unbothered by it, and took it in stride, returning the barb with an effectively placed shot at Naruto's intelligence.

They fell into silence, eating quietly, aside from a small hum of enjoyment every few moments. Sasuke finished up with his food quickly, though not even half as fast as Naruto, and looked at the boy in question. The blonde looked back quietly, meeting Sasuke's eyes. Sasuke gave a small smirk and a nod, a silent thank you, as both boys were too prideful to acknowledge that they had helped each other achieve equilibrium.

And so, the first test was completed. For both of them.


	4. Update for Shouting Leaf

An Update:

Hey guys, I know you are probably wondering at the lack of progress on shouting leaf, so I will do my best to explain. Recently, I've been in a bit of a rut, I haven't really been hit with the desire to write much on this. I'll be perfectly honest here and say that when I write, I'm writing for me, not you. That being said, I prefer to enjoy myself while writing, because I believe that, not only will each chapter come out better, but I will fulfill the purpose of writing in the first place; to entertain myself. I am not abandoning the story, probably won't until I can happily say that the story is finished, and I have some pretty good ideas on where I want this to go that I think most of you will enjoy. I will tell you that two of the standard teams will be different in order to render some of the useless characters (Ino and Sakura) not so useless, and to provide a better psychological base for Naruto outside of an asshole who couldn't give a shit about anyone outside of his revenge bubble (won't be the case in this story, one of the first things I plan on rectifying) and a putrid cunt who is so infatuated with not only herself but her paramour (see previous).

When all is said and done, my plan is to put out a high quality work of supreme art (not unlike what my parents did with me (#sarcasm, #hashtagsareforfags, #hashtagrebellion)) in a definite matter, if not a timely one. Sorry for the silence and the bluntness, but that's how it's going to be. I'm already a good portion through chapter 3.

While I'm not doing SL, and if I still wanna write stuff, I'll be doing another project. My plan is like this; if you've ever watched the Teen Titans (the good one, not Go (fuck yourself, Go)), the episode with the Game Master (or the Collector, it's been a while), it's gonna be a bit like that. If you've seen Ultimate Spiderman, there's an arc with both of those guys, where they basically kidnap a bunch of character's from the Marvel Universe and pit them against each other in a battle royale. It's super cool, and I kind of want to make something of it in a different light (and a different subject). So, that's the plan, just so I can continuously push out content (and have an excuse to use the Alienware I spent $1,400 on and have barely used) I'm gonna make some other things for different subjects. If you have an idea, request it, and I'll see what I can do. I'm more into games than Anime, though.


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